


best friends (superhero on the side)

by salrob (hanbrough)



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/M, Getting Together, Multi, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24224800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanbrough/pseuds/salrob
Summary: The second Gina steps out the door, all eyes turn to Nini. She stares back, confused.“Do I have something on my face? Why are you guys looking at me like that?” she asks nervously.“You know.” Kourtney states. For a moment, Nini has no idea what they’re talking about.“Know what?” she asks hesitantly.“You know about Ricky.” Ashlyn clarifies.“Youknow about Ricky?” Nini hisses, leaning in and dropping her voice to a whisper, “That he’s the… the Daredevil?"--or, nini tries to deal with both her feelings for ricky and the fact that he's a full blown vigilante.
Relationships: Ashlyn Caswell/Kourtney, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 16
Kudos: 118





	best friends (superhero on the side)

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by one of my favorite jimon aus, which in turn was inspired by the prompt “ok that trope where the superhero saves their crush in disguise and they’re like ????? who are they???? can we just get rid of that and have the rescued instantly recognize them by their voice”
> 
> note: in this universe, ricky and ashlyn are the cousins, not ej and ashlyn. it makes more sense in the context - you'll see :)
> 
> also, nini, gina and ej are the only ones who went to the same high school
> 
> lastly, this is v v important: tw for attempted sexual assault, cw for descriptions of injuries

Gina is hunched over her laptop, the clacking of the keyboard breaking the silence of the apartment. 

“What are you working on so intently?” Nini asks interestedly, taking a sip from her coffee. It’s only nine in the morning, but Gina’s already looking frazzled.

“I have to get this turned in to print staff tomorrow,” Gina sighs. As co-editor of Big Straw, the largest on-campus newspaper, Gina’s head is always in the latest story. 

“I still don’t know why you’re so obsessed with that guy,” Ricky says flippantly, from where he’s lying on the couch playing Animal Crossing. Despite being an editor, Gina’s taken the task of writing one of the articles herself, and she’s writing it on their corner of New York’s own vigilante, the Daredevil. “They couldn’t even come up with an original name for the dude.”

“Are you kidding me?” Gina stops typing for a moment to gape at Ricky. “How many vigilantes are there in, like, the whole world? And the fact that we have one right here in New York? How could you not be at least a little intrigued?”

“Yeah, Ricky. Even you have to admit that if we didn’t have a vigilante here in New York, that would just be so disrespectful to every comic book ever. It’s fate.” Nini adds, flipping through her textbook.

Ricky rolls his eyes. “Whatever. All I’m saying is, he really doesn't sound that interesting.”

Gina shrugs, going back to typing away. All of a sudden, she gasps. “Come look at this!”

She turns her laptop towards them, showing a news article from early this morning and playing the video attached, about how The Daredevil had saved a young woman who’d been cornered by a couple thugs at around six in the morning. They’d all been knocked out cold in a matter of minutes.

“I owe him my life,” the woman on screen says, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I wish I knew who he was so I could give my thanks.”

The reporter goes on to talk about how The Daredevil makes ‘going home at night in the streets much safer than it used to be’. He’s stopped countless cases of muggings, attempted rapes, kidnappings, and even the occasional violent drug smugglers and gang skirmishes. There have been a bit less attempted crimes in general, most likely out of fear of being caught by the vigilante.

Gina scrolls down to show a grainy cell phone picture from an eyewitness; it’s of the vigilante leaping over a rooftop away from the scene, all black leather, even his blurry mask.

“He’s so dreamy,” Gina mumbles, turning her laptop back towards herself. “I’d kill for an exclusive with him.”

Ricky snorts. “The guy is covered head to toe in leather, Gi. Good luck with that.” He gets up from the couch, shoving his tablet into his bag.

“One of these days, he’ll save your life, and you’ll take your cynicism back.”

“I can take care of myself,” he replies dryly. “We have class. You coming, Nini?”

Nini blinks, closing her textbook. “Oh. Oh, yeah, sure.” She stands up, bag in hand. “See you, Gina.”

Gina waves, already back to her article, and Nini follows Ricky out of the apartment complex, rushing a bit to get into step with him once they’re walking towards the science building that’s five minutes away.

“You know, out of all the people I’ve met, you seem to be the only person who doesn’t like that Daredevil guy.” Nini tells him.

Ricky shrugs. “It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just that I don’t get the hype. He’s probably just an ordinary guy with a day job and a lot of time on his hands. Nothing special in the long run.”

“All vigilantes are kind of like that,” Nini points out, “even Superman. And he’s an alien.”

“Superman isn’t real.”

“Give it a few years!”

Ricky rolls his eyes, not even bothering to quip back.

Nini hesitates a little, before speaking next, forced humor in her tone. “You sure you aren’t just a bit jealous that Gina’s more into that guy than into you?” It’s probably not the smartest thing to do, joking about Ricky’s thing for Gina when Nini herself has had an embarrassing crush on Ricky for almost a year now. But Nini has fooled herself into thinking that if she jokes about them being together, it’ll be less heartbreaking in the end.

Ricky shoots Nini a confused look. “I'm not jealous, and I don't want Gina to be into me.”

Nini punches Ricky teasingly in the shoulder, missing his wince. “Suuuure.”

Ricky rolls his eyes, but doesn’t deny it, and Nini ignores the sick feeling in her stomach, plastering a smile on her face instead. 

\--

“Movie night!” Nini exclaims, jumping onto the couch while precariously balancing a bowl of popcorn. “Gina’s out, so it’s just you and me, Kourt.”

Kourtney groans from where’s she lying down on the couch. Nini frowns. “What?”

“Sorry, it’s not you,” Kourtney sits up. “Professor Mazzara refused to bump my eighty nine point five up to a ninety.”

“Ugh,” Nini says sympathetically. “I hate professors who do that sort of thing.”

“At least it was worth seeing Ricky tell him he was wrong to his face this morning,” Kourtney laughs. “Prof. hates it when you question his theories.”

At the mention of Ricky, Nini stills. She remembers earlier today when Gina had stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk, and Ricky had caught her before she’d fallen. They’d both shared a laugh, Gina joking about her own clumsiness, and Gina hadn’t moved her hand from the crook of Ricky’s elbow, nor had he made any move to step away from her. Nini had been left a little bit behind, feeling like the third wheel and trying not to be horribly jealous of her best friends. Nini sighs, picking up the remote. 

Kourtney raises her eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

“I just – never mind. it’s nothing.” Nini lies. Kourtney, as usual, sees right through it. 

“Nini, are you –” 

Suddenly, Kourtney’s eyes dart away from her, focused on the TV screen in the background. “Turn it up,” she orders quickly, and Nini does what she’s told. The reporter on screen is standing in front of a bank, yellow caution tape and crying bystanders in the background.

“– hostages held at gunpoint while the men attempted to rob the bank. If it hadn’t been for the Daredevil, things would have turned out much worse than they did.” 

The screen cuts to the robbers, handcuffed on the side of the police cars, looking angry and wincing in pain. It pans back to the reporter, who goes on to ask the witnesses what they’d experienced. They describe different levels of fear, and relief later when they’d been saved by the vigilante. 

“They shot at him,” one of the witnesses, a young girl, tells the reporter. “I don’t know how badly he was hurt, but I hope he’s okay.” 

Nini turns to Kourtney, who’s rapidly typing away on her phone. She then slides it into her pocket, getting up. 

“I’m sorry Neens, but I have to go,” Kourtney shoots an apologetic smile. Nini frowns back, confused.

“What? Why?” 

“Um – Ashlyn just texted, she needs help with something. Rain check on the movie night?” 

“Wait –” 

Before Nini can finish her sentence, Kourtney’s out the door, leaving her to wonder what the hell had just happened. 

Nini’s certain that she remembers Kourtney telling her that her girlfriend was away for a debate tournament, but she doesn’t see why Kourtney would lie. Sighing, she turns off the television, putting aside movie night for another day. 

\--

Nini blinks past her sleepiness when the doorbell rings, bright and early. She’s still in her favorite set of pajama pants, and her hair is a mess when she goes to answer it, only to be met with-

“Oh. Oh! Hey Ricky. Are you waiting for Gina?” Abruptly, Nini wishes she had just taken a second to brush down her flyaways, and her cheeks redden.

Ricky regards her with amusement, eyes dancing with unspoken mirth. “No, I just wanted to-”

He’s interrupted by Gina, who stumbles out of her bedroom and rubs her eyes. “Ricky! What are you doing here so early?”

“Just wanted to drop off my part of the project real quick, but it looks like I swung by too early. I’ll leave you two to your beauty sleep.”

“Want to stay for morning coffee?” Nini blurts out.

“You sure?” Ricky pushes himself off from the side of the door, where he’d been leaning, and follows the girls into the apartment, limping slightly. A pained look crosses his face, but is gone before Nini can fully comprehend it.

“Are you okay?” Gina asks, concerned. Ricky brushes her off with an indifferent wave.

“I tripped up the stairs this morning, it’s no big deal.”

Nini furrows her eyebrows. She has a feeling that there’s a lot more to that story than Ricky’s letting on, but Gina changes the subject.

“Anyways,” she says as she starts up the coffeemaker, “Carlos, Seb, and I are going ice skating later tonight. You two both know how they get, so can either of you come with me?”

“I can’t,” Nini frowns. “I have to work tonight.”

“Ricky?”

“Book club.” Ricky answers hurriedly. Gina and Nini both blink at him.

“You read?” They ask at the same time. Ricky purses his lips and glares at them both.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear the disbelief in your voices.”

“I’m sorry!” Gina laughs. “I just never took you for the book club type.”

“It’s probably an excuse,” Nini jokes, but Ricky’s frown deepens at that. “He’s covering up the fact that he’s in a fight club or something.”

“First rule of Fight Club is, you don’t talk about Fight Club,” Ricky recites tonelessly. “Gina, are we still down for grocery shopping today?”

“Yes, we are! Well, it was supposed to be later, but since we’re already up….Nini, want to join us?” Gina glances at Nini, who blinks in surprise. _They planned this without me?_ But then she remembers that Gina and Ricky are closer to each other than Nini and Ricky are, so of course they would. It’s not even a big deal, it’s just a chore run.

“I have to meet up with someone for lunch,” she lies, shrugging. She’s not in the mood to be an unfortunate third wheel and feel her heart break even more. 

Gina tells Nini that they’ll be back soon, and she and Ricky leave Nini standing in front of the apartment door.

\--

By the time Nini gets off work, it’s past midnight. She’s exhausted, and wants nothing more to be in the safety and comfort of her own bed. 

She doesn't usually get out this late, so the streets are quieter than usual. The apartment isn't very far from work, but Nini still wishes she had gotten out early enough to catch one of the late buses, because walking down the streets at this hour, especially as a single woman, never makes her feel good. 

Making a split-second decision, Nini heads toward a shortcut that she only ever goes through in the mornings. The streets are much more abandoned there, but it’s a faster route to her place, so she crosses her fingers, hoping that there won’t be any trouble.

Nini adjusts the strap of her messenger bag, tightens her grip, and quickens her steps. She jumps as a trash can bangs in the alleyway behind her, a stray cat zipping past, and then jumps again as her phone vibrates, the buzzing sensation causing her stomach to churn. 

“Calm down, Nini,” she whispers to herself. Taking a deep breath, she pulls out her phone.

_gigi: are you still at work?_

_nini: im omw home!! don’t wait up if u wanna go to sleep_

_gigi: be safe!!_

Nini starts to type back a response when she’s suddenly cornered unceremoniously. The eyes of the man who’s backed her into the wall glint in the dark, and her breath catches.

“Why hello there,” the man, who’s tall and burly, says, with a predatory smirk on his face. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing out this late?”

Nini’s visibly shaking; she’s seen one too many news stories of girls who’ve been jumped at night, stripped of their belongings, dignity and sense of safety. Her phone slips from her grasp, but she manages to catch it just in time, discreetly turning on the recorder.

“Take off your shirt. Now,” the man orders, eyes greedily raking up and down her figure. Nini resists the urge to throw up.

“No-no, please,” she pleads, a final, desperate attempt to get him to stop. Deep down, she knows it’s futile. 

Impatient, the man pushes his face close against Nini’s, hot breath blowing in her face. He grabs her wrist so tightly she’s afraid it’ll break.

“Do what I say, you little bitch, or else-”

The man abruptly stops speaking, and Nini’s afraid he’s going to just murder her to make things easier, when a voice cuts through the silence: “Are you gonna back away from her, or am I going to have to make you?”

Nini slides back against the wall, turning to look at the person standing a few feet away from them. He’s dressed in leather, coolly staring the man down. Nini’s attacker scrambles back for a second, and pulls out a knife.

“Yeah you’ll have to make me,” he snaps; despite clearly trying his hardest to sound confident, Nini can hear the uncertainty underneath. She stares at the man dressed in leather - her guardian angel.

Before Nini can even blink, the knife has flown out of the thug’s grip, and the vigilante twists, a loud snap sounding through the air. Nini’s attacker howls in pain; she’s pretty sure that the Daredevil has just broken his wrist. 

“Do I have to repeat myself?” Daredevil asks, voice calm yet threatening all at once. 

Angrily, the attacker shakes his head. The minute the Daredevil’s grip on him loosens, he jerks his arm away and high tails it down the street, cradling his wrist. The vigilante and Nini both watch him go.

“Holy shit,” Nini whispers, mind racing. Everything had happened so fast, and she feels overwhelmed, shaken and in disbelief.

“Are you okay?” The Daredevil places his hand on her shoulder gently, surveying her for injuries. Abruptly, Nini realizes she’s been staring, and shuts her gaping mouth closed.

“I - I think so,” she finally responds, heart still racing. She picks up her bag, which had fallen during the struggle, and triple checks to make sure everything’s still inside. The Daredevil watches her with a mix of concern and amusement.

“Do you have all your belongings?” The Daredevil asks. Nini nods, and looks the man over. His mask covers most of his face, but a familiar-looking curl has escaped and hangs loosely over the top of the mask. Nini frowns.

Wait.

“You should get going, it’s not safe for a woman to be out this late.” 

Nini knows that voice.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The Daredevil asks again when Nini doesn’t move.

“ _Ricky_?” Nini blurts, incredulous. 

The Daredevil freezes, and they stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, before he finally speaks, 

“What?”

“Ricky!” Nini exclaims. “Holy shit! What are you doing?” Instantly, Nini can now see the similarities: the hair. His mouth. Hell, his voice practically confirms it all. Now that she thinks about it, all of the paper-thin excuses Ricky’s been making up for the past few months, the random injuries that keep popping up - it all makes sense. 

But she still has one question - “How do you have those….powers?!”

“What are you talking about?” He asks, but there’s an edge to his voice and Nini steps closer to him.

“It is you, I’m not crazy,” she says, “or maybe I am, because – ”

The vigilante curses under his breath, then yanks open the door of the building and pulls Nini inside. For a wild second, Nini’s afraid she’s got it wrong, but then the man himself confirms it when he whips his mask off.

“Oh. My God.” Nini gasps. Ricky glares back at her, eyes hard.

“Nini –” 

“I can’t believe this. Please tell me I’m dreaming.”

“Nini, can you stop?”

“But – I don’t get it! I don’t understand how – ” 

Nini’s interrupted when her phone rings. They both stare at the picture of Gina that lights up the screen. Nini doesn’t answer it; she has too much going on in her head to clearly talk to Gina right now.

“You need to go home,” Ricky tells Nini once she’s returned her phone to her pocket.

“Ricky. I don’t – ” 

“Nini.” Ricky says through gritted teeth. “Just. Go.” 

Nini’s mind is still racing, but she’s a little afraid of the hard edge in Ricky’s voice, so she nods hastily. “Okay, but you owe me an explanation later.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” Ricky snaps. “You can’t tell anyone about this, especially Gina. I’m serious.”

“Okay, okay!” Nini stares at Ricky for one last second, and then turns and rushes away from the alley. When she turns back to look once more, Ricky is gone.

When Nini arrives at the apartment complex, her hands tremble as she struggles to unlock the door. Once she’s inside, firmly shutting the door closed, she leans against it, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She thinks about the absurdity of the situation; of Ricky, being New York’s beloved savior. She has no idea how that’s possible, and no matter how hard she thinks about it, she can’t find an explanation as to how Ricky can do what the Daredevil can allegedly do. How Ricky could move as fast as he’d moved earlier. 

“Nini?” Gina’s concerned voice interrupts her thoughts, and she feels her friend’s arms wrap around her. “Why didn’t you answer my call? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, totally,” Nini smiles feebly. “I’m f-”

“What’s that on your arm?” Gina interrupts, pointing at a growing bruise near Nini’s wrist, where the attacker had grabbed her earlier. In the midst of everything, she had forgotten about it.

“What?” Nini squeaks, trying to act casual. “No-nothing! It’s f-”

“Nini, what happened on the way home?” Gina asks, crossing her arms.

Nini sighs; Gina’s always been too good at reading people, especially her. “Some guy cornered me in the alley. But I got out of it, so it’s fine.”

“How?” Gina questions. Suddenly, her eyes widen. “Did the….Daredevil save you?”

“Yes,” Nini finally relents.

“Did you get to see him up close? Do you know who he is?” Gina’s voice rises in excitement. 

Nini laughs awkwardly. “Yeah, I saw him, and no, I don’t know who he is.” It’s a half-truth; she hopes Gina won’t read into it.

“Oh, okay,” Gina finally says, and Nini internally breathes a sigh of relief. Then, as if remembering the magnitude of the situation, her excitement shifts back to concern. “You sure you’re okay, though?”

“Fine,” Nini plasters an unconvincing smile on her face. “I’m just gonna go to bed.”

As she lays in bed, staring at the ceiling, she thinks. So, not only is Ricky cute, smart and talented, but he’s also a vigilante who dresses in tight leather and goes around saving distressed New Yorkers. Nini wants to scream.

Despite being bone-deep exhausted less than an hour before, she barely gets any sleep that night.

\--

Nini is late to her first class the next morning, and ends up pulling out her laptop and reading every article she could find on the Daredevil. The more she reads about the vigilante’s speed, superhuman strength, and fighting abilities, the less sure she is that she didn’t just dream up the whole scenario, because there is no way that the Daredevil is Ricky. The same Ricky who makes fun of her for the way she writes her Js, the one that sits with her in the music room, strumming along on the guitar to her piano playing. 

_coffee?_ Gina texts her as she exits the lecture hall. The thought of a hot cup of coffee is the only thing that gets Nini to walk the distance.

The minute she’s stepped into the café, Nini spots Gina waving her hand in the air to get her attention, and she weaves through the tables to reach her. She’s sitting with Kourtney, Big Red, and Ashlyn, who’s texting madly on her phone.

“You look like you’ve died,” Kourtney comments bluntly, and Nini grunts in response, dropping down next to Gina. 

“I feel like I’ve died,” she groans, rubbing her eyes. 

“Ricky’s getting our coffee,” Kourtney informs her. “Are you ready to order?”

Nini’s about to complain about having to get up and walk the few feet to the counter when Ricky approaches them, drinks in hand in a carrier that he sets down at the table.

“No need,” Ricky says, setting a cup down in front of her. “Hey, Nini,” he greets, voice surprisingly soft, a clear contrast from how he’d snapped at her last night. Nini had expected Ricky to give her the cold shoulder, or at least roll his eyes at her, but instead he’s sitting next to Kourtney and acting no differently. 

“Hi.” Nini responds, a second too late. She takes a sip of her coffee, the warmth immediately spreading through her body. She’s pleasantly surprised at the fact that Ricky has gotten her coffee order down perfectly, exactly the way she likes it.

Ricky catches her eye and they both stare at each other. Nini knows they’re both thinking about the same thing: last night.

“Hey,” Gina stands up abruptly, holding her phone, “my mom’s calling me. I gotta take this.” Stepping away from the table, she moves toward the exit. The second Gina steps out the door, all eyes turn to Nini. She stares back, confused.

“Do I have something on my face? Why are you guys looking at me like that?” she asks nervously.

“You know.” Kourtney states. For a moment, Nini has no idea what they’re talking about.

“Know what?” she asks hesitantly.

“You know about Ricky.” Ashlyn clarifies.

“ _You_ know about Ricky?” Nini hisses, leaning in and dropping her voice to a whisper, “That he’s the… the Daredevil?"

Ashlyn snorts. “Of course I know - he’s my cousin. Kourtney found out by accident.”

“And I’m his best friend,” Big Red adds.

“I’m literally right here,” Ricky mutters, “stop talking about me as if I can’t hear you.”

They all ignore him.

“But how is he –”

Ashlyn holds up her hand. “That’s not the point.”

“Ricky told us about what happened last night,” Big Red speaks up. “Have you told anyone?”

“Of course not!” Nini’s insulted. “You think I can’t keep a secret?”

“It’s not that,” Ashlyn sighs. “It’s just… Ricky wouldn’t listen to us when he started this...thing, even though it could get him killed.” Ricky rolls his eyes at that. “It’s dangerous, we all know that, and we just want to make sure his identity stays private.”

Nini nods solemnly. “I get that. His secret stays with me, I promise.”

“Not even Gina,” Kourtney presses.

“Okay, I get it. Not even Gina.” She pauses for a second. “Though I don’t understand what the big deal would be if she – “

“Nini!”

“Okay, okay!” Nini lifts her hands up in surrender. Ricky just shakes his head, a curly lock of hair falling into his face. Nini has the urge to reach out and brush it back but that would be weird, and it would also make things very awkward.

Gina returns to their table shortly, putting her phone away. “Hope you guys didn’t miss me too bad,” she jokes, sitting down.

“Oh, it was torture without you here,” Ricky quips, and Gina kicks him lightly under the table, smiling. She reaches out and delicately pushes Ricky’s hair behind his ear, and the back of Nini’s neck heats up instantly.

“Get a room,” Big Red jokes, and they all laugh. It’s clearly not meant to be taken seriously, but Nini does anyway. Her grip on the coffee cup tightens, and she hopes nobody can see the way her fingers are trembling.

“I have to...I have to make a call,” she blurts out suddenly, and rushes away before any of them can respond.

Nini all but collapses on the bench outside the café, instantly cursing herself for leaving so quickly. She wonders how the hell she’s going to deal when Ricky and Gina inevitably start dating when here she is, running away at the sight of them merely touching.

Nini takes a few deep breaths, revving herself up to go back inside, when she hears the door to the café swing open. Nini looks up with a carefully crafted excuse on the tip of her tongue, only to see Ashlyn step towards her.

“You know,” she starts, “at first I thought it was Gina. But now I’m positive it’s Ricky.”

“What are you talking about?” Nini questions weakly, even though she knows exactly what Ashlyn’s talking about.

“You have feelings for Ricky.” Ashlyn states it loud and clear, and Nini wishes she were anywhere but here.

“No I -”

“Nini, you don’t have to deny it.”

“… Alright,” Nini acquiesces. “Was it that obvious?”

Ashlyn smiles. “Just to me. Don’t worry.”

“Right.” Nini laughs awkwardly. Even though she’s Ricky’s cousin and Kourtney’s girlfriend, she admittedly still doesn’t know Ashlyn all that well. 

“Hey,” Ashlyn says, taking a seat next to her. “You should just tell him.”

“And then what?” Nini replies bitterly. “Have my heart broken when he inevitably doesn’t like me back and ruin our friendship forever?”

“You know,” Ashlyn says, “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

Nini stares at her scuffed boots, willing the tears in her eyes to go away.

“Anyways,” Ashlyn stands back up after a brief second of silence, holding out her hand. “You coming back in?”

“Yeah,” Nini says, taking Ashlyn’s hand, because what other choice does she have? “Sure.”

\--

“How do you do it?”

Nini’s finally got Ricky cornered in the library one Tuesday evening. Ricky jumps as he turns around, dropping his book on the ground.

“Jesus, Nini.”

“Sorry,” she apologizes, crouching down to pick up the book. She hands it back to him, and gestures toward an empty table by the shelf. “Let’s sit.”

“I’m serious,” she tries again, once Ricky’s taken a seat. “How can you...do what you do?”

Ricky shrugs, trying to avoid the topic. Nini watches multiple expressions flash across his face: Frustration, annoyance, hesitation, and finally, defeat.

“Fine,” Ricky relents. “I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

"I won’t, and you don’t have to keep asking that. It’s not like I'm going to forget if you don't and expose you to the entire world."

Ricky rolls his eyes, but begins telling the story nonetheless.

“You know that my mom remarried,” he begins. Nini nods, and gestures for him to continue.

“Todd’s a scientist. One day, he wanted to try this new….serum out, but couldn’t get any participants on such short notice. I volunteered, and these abilities were the result.”

“Is that even legal?” Nini questions. “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” Ricky shakes his head. “I’m fine.”

“But what made you decide to become...the Daredevil?” Nini asks. She’s not sure if she should’ve asked the question, because Ricky all of a sudden gets a faraway look in his eyes.

“A few weeks after I got my powers, my dad was killed. Drive-by shooting - I guess you could call it my Uncle Ben origin story. But I just felt so...guilty. I could’ve stopped it, but I wasn’t there, because I had pushed him away after the divorce.” Ricky’s right hand has tightened into a fist, and Nini can’t help but stare in shock. Ricky always tells people that his dad had died in an accident, simple as that, and Nini can’t believe that he’s been carrying this around for the past few years, and will continue to do so. Ricky has never shown any bit of complex, emotional pain (or any pain whatsoever), and for the briefest of moments, Nini hates herself for never questioning it.

“So after that,” Ricky continues, “I promised myself I’d never let anyone get hurt or killed again, especially if I could stop it. I know it won’t bring my dad back, but….at least I get to help people.”

Nini feels a warmth in her chest. Hearing Ricky talk so genuinely about himself, and how much he wants to help people, makes Nini admire him much more than ever before. Reaching out, she places her hand on top of Ricky’s, whose eyes snap up to meet hers. She’s not exactly sure what to say in response to all that Ricky has confided to her, but tries. 

“I’m sorry that you had to go through all of that. But I’m so happy something good’s come out of it and that you’ve embraced it. You’re an amazing person, Ricky.” 

Ricky’s smile widens at Nini’s spiel. His smile is genuine and beautiful, and Nini feels like a hand has reached inside her and squeezed her heart as tight as possible. 

\--

Later that night, Nini can’t help but worry at the thought of Ricky out there, alone.

_What if he’s getting pummeled by a bunch of thugs? What if someone’s trying to retaliate against him?_

_What if he’s dead?_

Nini has to remind herself for the upteenth time that Ricky is capable of taking down anyone who comes for him, but she still feels uneasy. Is this how Ashlyn and Big Red always feel? she wonders. Ricky has no obligation to the city to do what he does, but still does it anyway: Nini’s both charmed and exasperated. 

Fingers instinctively reaching for her phone, Nini’s surprised to see the screen read 2 AM. Unlocking the device, Nini pulls up her texts with Ricky.

_2:01 AM - stay safe please!!! and get some sleep when you’re done_

_2:04 AM - text me back so i know u haven’t been viciously murdered_

_2:06 AM - i’m going to sleep now, gn_

When she wakes up the next morning, there are more texts from Ricky than she’d expected. 

_4:30 AM - aw, you actually care about me? means a lot_

_5:02 AM - why are there so many criminals in new york what the actual fuck. do people here ever sleep???_

_5:46 AM – but seriously, I’m fine. have not been viciously murdered. actually feeling more alive than ever 10/10_

_8:29 AM – why did I register for morning classes_

Nini smiles at her phone longer than necessary.

\--

“So, why do they call you the Daredevil? Isn’t that already a name from the comics?”

They’re in the food court, munching down on McDonald’s. Ricky shrugs indifferently as he grabs another handful of fries. 

“Some kid on Reddit posted it, and I guess it stuck,” he replies. 

“Yeah, but they could’ve at least been original. It’s not like your costume resembles Daredevil’s, anyway.”

“It’s not a costume!” Ricky exclaims, defensive. Nini can't help but laugh at the expression on his face. Ricky’s glare melts and he smiles softly, which makes her flush and hastily grab some fries to distract herself. Casually glancing around the food court, Nini immediately chokes when she catches sight of someone walking hand in hand with a pretty woman.

“Shit,” Nini quietly curses. Ricky hears it and looks at her, concerned. 

“What’s wrong?”

“My ex,” Nini explains quickly, discreetly pointing him out. She and EJ had dated for a little bit in high school; although they’d broken up on good terms, Nini still felt anxious every time she ran into him. 

Ricky raises an eyebrow and frowns. “Well,” he says, “you should probably stop visibly freaking out, because they’re coming towards us now.”

“Nini!” EJ and his girlfriend come to a stop at their table. “How are you?”

“Oh, hey EJ,” Nini squeaks out, hoping her blush isn’t as visible as it feels. “I’m good. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, I was in Italy for an exchange program. What’ve you been up to?”

Nini wishes she could sink into the floor. She knows EJ is being polite by engaging in conversation, but it feels like every time they have this forced-polite-talk, Nini’s answer is always the same: Oh, just studying. You know. 

"Class. Work. Not much," She forces out a smile, before noticing that Ricky is outright glaring at him, and not in a joking way. This is a full-blown, I will end you, Ricky Bowen glare. Nini's very confused and a little terrified.

“I’m Kate,” EJ’s girlfriend waves. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you are?”

Ricky finally stops glaring at EJ long enough to answer. “Ricky,” he answers shortly. “Nini’s friend.”

“Friend,” EJ responds, looking doubtful, and Nini kind of wants to die.

“Well, it was great running into you,” Nini says, looking for any way to end the conversation. She discreetly gestures to Ricky, who picks up their used napkins and stands up along with her. 

“It was nice meeting you,” Ricky monotones, although his glare says otherwise. 

After Ricky and Nini are a sizable distance away from EJ and his girlfriend, he turns to her.

“EJ seems like an asshole,” he says. Nini sighs.

“He’s not that bad,” she says, because it’s the truth. She has no idea why Ricky seems to hate him on principle, but either way, she’s glad the moment’s over.

\--

Gina’s article about the Daredevil for Big Straw is published the following week. Nini’s volunteered to give a personalized quote about the Daredevil, albeit anonymously, so she picks up a copy of the paper to support her friend. 

“What do you really think about this guy?” Nini asks as she weaves the shopping cart through the narrow aisle. 

Gina shrugs. "I don't know. I guess the more time goes by, the more I feel detached from him. I can research all I want, but I'll never truly know what the guy thinks, or feels, or why he does what he does."

Nini’s taken aback; she'd thought Gina would continue to wax poetic about the vigilante (which is... sort of what she'd wanted to hear), but she’s wrong.

"Wow," Nini blurts, "I — I kinda get it." After all, she had never cared much about the Daredevil before she had found out his identity. It was only after Ricky had revealed himself, that Nini had stopped and really thought about it. While she knows what Ricky's motives are and why he does what he does, Gina doesn't, and she can't relate to him at all. 

"I'm sure he's sincere but I just wish I knew more about the guy. I wanna know what motivates him to do what he does, you know?"

Nini trails after her, hesitating. "I think he's a great person." It’s the truth; while she admires the persona Ricky hides behind, she admires Ricky himself the most.

“Do you have a crush on him or something after he rescued you?” Gina teases her, and Nini blushes.

“N-no,” she stammers. “Of course not. I don’t even know who he is.”

“Oh right,” Gina says. “It isn’t the vigilante you like, it’s Ricky.”

Nini stops abruptly in the middle of the aisle, and the woman trailing behind them shoots her a dirty look. Hastily adjusting the cart so that the customer can go ahead, she slowly turns to Gina.

“What do you mean, I like Ricky?” she asks nervously. “Don’t you like Ricky?”

“What? No,” Gina responds, furrowing her brow. “I mean, I had a tiny crush on him ages ago, but that’s all in the past. Where have you been?”

"I... What?" Nini's convinced her brain has short circuited.

"That ship's sailed, Salrob, you can't even see it on the horizon. Not even with a super expensive pair of binoculars."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked," Gina answers, "and I honestly just forgot about it. Ricky is a great guy, and he's really cute, but we're just friends."

"He doesn't like you? I'm pretty sure he likes you, Gina."

Nini wants to jump for joy. She's still not completely sure what Gina said is true, but she lets herself get her hopes up anyway. 

"Uh, no." Gina laughs.

“Oh,” Nini says. “Sorry for not noticing.”

"Well, at least now I know why you didn't tell me about your crush on Ricky - because you thought I liked him. That's so thoughtful, Neens."

Nini blinks. Then moves away from Gina. "What."

"We’ve known each other since high school; I know you better than anyone. I see the way you look at him.” Gina gives Nini what she probably thinks is a reassuring look, but it just makes Nini feel worse. “At first I thought you just didn't want to tell me, and I was waiting for you to, but now I know why you didn’t."

Nini wants nothing more than to deny it, laugh it off, tell Gina she's imagining things, but a part of her also wants to say it out loud and get it over with. Unsurprisingly, the latter thought process wins. Sighing, Nini crosses her arms defensively. "Is it that obvious?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?"

Nini wants to lie on the cold, hard floor and never get up.

"I think it’s only Big Red, Ashlyn and me who know."

"What? How?" Big Red was Ricky’s best friend. If he knew, then...

"Don't worry, Ricky has no clue. He's bad with feelings and all that stuff," Gina jokes. 

“This is so embarrassing.” Nini groans, head in hands.

“Hey,” Gina pats her shoulder comfortingly. “It’ll be okay.”

She isn’t so sure of that.

\--

Nini’s in the middle of studying for her upcoming midterm, lo fi music playing in the background, when a sharp knock on her window startles her. 

For a second, Nini wonders if someone's trying to rob her apartment, but common sense kicks in and tells her that if she were getting robbed, the thief wouldn't be polite enough to knock. Shutting off the music and creeping towards the window, Nini peeks outside. Someone's leaning against it, and at the sight of uncharacteristically curly brown hair, she breathes a sigh of relief and unlocks it, reaching over and sliding it open.

"Ricky, you know you can just come through the door. Or is this some vigilante thing you're doing now —"

"I don’t —" Ricky loses his grip on the window and practically falls into the apartment. He would have hit the floor, hard, if Nini hadn't caught him quickly. When Ricky stands back up, he seems dizzy and unbalanced. Nini furrows her eyebrows, alarmed.

"Are you okay?"

Ricky shakes his head, eyes fluttering shut. He has his leather jacket under his arm and lets it fall to the ground, his other hand pressed against his side, and Nini realizes that he's bleeding.

"Oh my god," she gasps, leading Ricky to the couch, where he immediately collapses and then shifts in pain, cursing under his breath. "What happened?"

"I got stabbed," Ricky explains, voice eerily calm considering the subject matter. "And I'm pretty sure some of my ribs are broken."

"What were you doing? Why didn't you go to the hospital? What the hell?" Nini’s voice rises as she panics, running to the kitchen to find supplies. 

"I got jumped by this asshole's friends. I didn't see them coming," Ricky grumbles as Nini as she returns, ice pack and first aid kit in hand, "and I don't need to go to the hospital, I heal fast. I'll be fine in a couple of hours."

Part of Nini wants to yell at Ricky for being so reckless and letting himself get hurt, but the more rational side of her takes over. Sitting down next to Ricky’s head, she holds out the first aid items. "Take your shirt off."

"At least buy me dinner first," Ricky grins weakly. Normally, the sentence coming from Ricky’s mouth would’ve made Nini’s insides turn to goop, but this wasn’t normal.

"Shut up."

Ricky immediately sobers up at the harshness in Nini's voice and does as he's told, and Nini grimaces. There are dark bruises littering his torso, and a healing cut on his back. It doesn't seem to be bleeding much, but judging by the blood on Ricky's shirt, it - or something around that area - must have been gushing a lot earlier.

"Why are you here?" Nini asks, after a few seconds. She doesn't want to come off as rude, but she's confused. Worried and surprised and confused. “Why didn’t you just use the door?”

“Some of your neighbors are hanging out front,” Ricky tells her. "Ash and Kourt are with Gina. Red’s with some of his other friends and I didn’t want to intrude. I didn't have anywhere else to go."

Of course, Nini thinks, a little bitterly, before immediately hating herself for thinking such selfish thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Ricky says suddenly. Nini glances at him, confused, and suddenly, she can see how truly exhausted he is. As if on instinct, her hands move to brush Ricky’s hair out of his face and Ricky falters at that.

Hastily, she pulls away. "For what?"

"Barging in on you like this. I didn't want to bother you but... Even if the others were alone, I still would have rather come here," Ricky replies honestly, avoiding Nini’s eyes. "You're the only one who wouldn't freak out."

"I'm pretty freaked out right now." Nini laughs nervously; her heart still hasn’t stopped pounding. 

"They worry too much," Ricky clarifies, and Nini wants to respond, _I worry about you too, all the time_ , but she doesn’t.

"Well, they should. You almost died."

"That's a stretch," Ricky rolls his eyes, and Nini's stomach clenches uncomfortably.

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"

"Yeah. Quick healing, like I said before."

"Good for you." Nini comments dryly. "Then you can just go on being reckless."

"I'm not reckless." Ricky sounds annoyed, like he's heard this too many times (which he probably has). The atmosphere crackles with building tension.

"Right. You purposely look for bad guys to fight and that’s not being reckless?"

Ricky replies stonily, "I do what I have to do."

"You don't have to do anything!" Nini cries. "Ricky, you really need to stop running into danger. Why do you think your friends worry as much as they do? They’ve probably had to see you like this countless times —"

"Nini, what I do is not your business." Ricky sounds as if he's trying to keep himself from snapping, which is ironic considering Nini herself kind of wants to yell at Ricky.

"You're making it my business, coming here and making me see you like this."

"Then I'll leave," Ricky grits his teeth. He moves to sit up but winces in pain, before Nini pushes him back down.

"Don't be stupid," Nini paces back and forth in agitation. "Where would you go?"

Ricky glares at her in silence.

"I thought you'd understand," he finally speaks, "why I do it. After what I told you."

Nini blinks, and remembers their conversation in the library, the way Ricky had smiled at her when she understood. Her anger deflates, and for a brief moment, she feels like an asshole. 

(Not enough of an asshole to apologize, though.)

"Maybe I don't." She counters, and immediately regrets it, seeing the look on Ricky's face. "You can’t use that as an excuse. Nobody forced you to put your life on the line.” 

“An excuse?” Ricky exclaims, furious. “You really think – ?” He stops suddenly, breathing harshly through his nose, going eerily silent. 

Then, he pushes himself off the couch, the ice pack sliding to the ground.

“Ricky, where are you going?” Nini tries to follow him, but he’s surprisingly fast for someone who’d just been stabbed. 

“I’ll see you later,” he mumbles, wrenching the door open.

“Ricky,” Nini tries again. “Ricky!”

The slamming of the door reverberates through the apartment.

\--

“What did you do?”

Nini awakens, shrieking in surprise to see Ashlyn and Kourtney standing over her, glaring. Abruptly, the memory of last night’s events comes rushing back, and she feels sick to her stomach.

“I -” Nini glances at the ground, where Ricky’s bloody leather jacket lies. She sighs. “I messed up.” 

“Well, fix it,” Kourtney says harshly, so unlike her usual cheerful demeanor that it scares Nini a little. 

She sighs again. “I’ll try my best.”

\--

Another two weeks pass of Ricky and Nini not talking to each other. It’s not like Nini hadn’t tried to fix things, it was just that Ricky was a notoriously difficult person to track down when he wanted to be. Even Gina had noticed the tension; she claims that Nini’s been moping, and apparently Ricky had made some offhand comment about not talking to Nini during one of their hangouts. 

“Did you...did you tell him how you feel? Did he reject you?” Gina asks, concerned. “Nini -”

“No, of course I didn’t tell him,” Nini shakes her head, sighing. “We just had this… disagreement the other day and I pissed him off.”

“Disagreement about what?”

_Oh, just about how Ricky is the roof-hopping, crime stopping vigilante you used to be obsessed with and I want him to be more careful but he loves throwing himself in front of bad guys and shit._

“I can’t even remember. It was stupid.”

Gina raises an eyebrow. “Fine, don’t tell me, but at least fix it so you stop looking like a kicked puppy.”

So Nini keeps trying, even though her attempts are futile. Meanwhile, the semester ends, and she’s looking forward to going home to her moms. 

Carol pulls her into a bone-crushing hug the moment she opens the door. Nini hugs her back and sighs; she’s missed home so much. She does the same to Dana, who tells her that dinner’s almost ready.

The meal passes by relatively happily, as Nini updates her moms on the past semester. (She purposely leaves out the bit about the vigilante she’s fallen for, though.) Afterwards, they contemplate playing Scrabble before Nini decides she’s ready for bed. 

As Nini fluffs her pillow, the door to her childhood bedroom creaks open. Turning around, she spots her moms leaning against the entrance, arms crossed. 

“What’s on your mind?” Carol prods.

“Nothing much,” Nini shrugs, sitting down on the bed. “Just thinking about next year, I guess.” That technically isn’t a lie; she and her friends are going to be juniors now, and that’s a lot to consider. 

“Something’s bothering you, sweetheart. We can tell you aren’t as chipper as you usually are.”

Nini finally relents, sighing. “I had an argument with a friend, and now they’re not talking to me.” She hates how childish it sounds. 

“What did you fight about?” Dana asks.

"They’re insistent on putting themselves in danger just to help other people. And I know they mean well, but I can't help but worry about them. I told them that they shouldn't be doing it, and it pissed them off."

"Danger?" Carol raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Nini mutters, "I know, it's crazy."

She doesn’t know how to explain the situation to her moms without revealing Ricky’s identity; she doesn't want that to be another promise she’s broken.

“Um. Some bad things happened to them? And what they do is kind of because of that.”

“It seems pretty clear cut to me,” Carol tells her. “People deal with trauma in different ways. We all have different coping mechanisms. What your friend does most likely helps them deal with what they went through.”

“Well, yeah,” Nini tries to argue. “But they’re still out there risking their life and that scares me! I just want them to be safe – ”

“Nini.” Dana interrupts her gently. “We know you care about your friend’s safety. But you have to realize that you can’t - and shouldn’t - try to control them. If they’re really helping people, isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yes. But – “ 

“It’s their life, and they’re doing what they think is right. You can only do so much before it starts to turn into you trying to control them. You can’t tell someone that they need to stop doing something that helps them cope with their trauma, especially when you haven’t personally experienced their side - that’s just selfish and dangerous.” 

A small, stubborn part of Nini wants to argue, but her logical side knows that her moms are right.

She’s now fully come to accept why Ricky had been so furious. She had told him that he was using his dad’s death as an excuse, and it was a horribly awful thing to say. She hadn’t realized it then, but she does now. Ricky had trusted her, and Nini had thrown it all back in his face.

She groans. “I’m a terrible friend.”

“We all make mistakes,” Carol assures her, but Nini shakes her head: she knows it wasn’t a mistake. 

“Thanks, moms,” she stands up, grateful to them for helping her see the error of her ways. 

“Come here.”

Nini’s wrapped in a bone-crushing hug, but she feels lighter than she has in weeks.

“Talk to your friend,” Dana looks at her when they separate. “I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“As a vigilante, he should know to be safe anyways,” Carol adds.

Nini gapes, knowing she mentioned nothing about vigilantism. “What? I didn’t say anything about that.”

“Putting themselves in danger just to help other people?” Dana quotes Nini, who sighs. Of course her moms were smart enough to figure it out. She’s terrible at this.

Despite going to bed earlier than usual, Nini stays up late that night, wondering if she should text Ricky or not. She stares at a photo of them taken before the fiasco, wide grins, arms wrapped around each other, before deciding that she’d rather talk to him in person.

(Ricky would most likely ignore any text she sends, anyway.) 

\--

_ashlyn’s having a little get-together tomorrow. wanna come?_

The text from Kourtney comes in just as Nini has put the last batch of cookies in the oven. Straightening up, she starts to type out a response.

_sure_ , she sends, watching the little “delivered” status show up at the bottom of the text bubble, before realizing that Ricky is most likely going to be there. She internally panics for a second, before reminding herself that it’s actually a good thing - she’ll get to talk to Ricky and sort things out.

Her internship ends a little later than usual that day, so by the time she’s changed out of her work clothes and Ubered over to Ashlyn’s apartment, she’s over an hour late. Nonetheless, Ashlyn greets her enthusiastically, and lets her in. 

Nini tries not to feel out of place as she scans the room. Although Ashlyn’s a part of her friend group thanks to Kourtney and Ricky, Nini doesn’t actually know most of her other friends. 

“Hey!” Gina calls out as Nini makes her way to the snack bar. She’s instantly relieved to see a familiar face. 

“Hey,” Nini greets. “Um, have you seen Ricky?”

“Yeah,” Gina replies with a knowing glance. “He’s back over there.” She points vaguely to somewhere behind her.

Hugging Gina quickly in thanks, Nini then makes her way over to where she hopes Gina has pointed to. She thinks she spots the familiar-looking curls, but before she can get any closer, a hand grips her arm. 

Turning around, she’s faced with none other than EJ.

Nini experiences a wave of emotions all at once: shock, annoyance, anxiety, and back to shock. She gapes. “EJ? Why are you here?”

“I’m friends with Ashlyn,” EJ replies. Of course, Nini thinks. New York just isn’t big enough, is it?

“Alright.” She laughs nervously. “I have to find someone, so…”

“Your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” She says it a little defensively, and EJ grins, clearly delighted at the fact that she’d instantly known who he had been talking about without even mentioning a name.

“Could’ve fooled me,” EJ smirks, “the way he was glaring at me the whole time. Was he jealous? Didn’t you tell him we ended on completely platonic terms?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nini says, though she does remember Ricky’s unusually icy demeanor that day. “I gotta go.”

EJ shrugs. “Have fun.”

Nini’s relieved when he turns away without another word, walking in the opposite direction. Returning to her search, she immediately spots Ricky this time; he’s in the corner of the room, talking to Seb. 

Nini hesitates for a second, worried she’ll just mess everything up even more, but somehow, she forces herself forward. 

“Uh,” Nini’s momentarily at a loss of words as Seb and Ricky turn to look at her. Seb smiles sweetly, waving, while Ricky looks wary. “Hi.”

Seb - bless his heart - senses the tension in the air. “I’ll catch you later,” he tells Ricky, and then it’s just the two of them. 

Ricky has a faded bruise under his eye and looks exhausted when Nini looks at him more closely, sending a fresh pang of worry through her stomach.

"Ricky," Nini starts again, "Can we talk?"

Ricky stares at the ceiling for a few seconds before sighing and pushing himself off the wall. "I don't see why not." Gesturing for Nini to follow him, Ricky leads her to Ashlyn’s front porch. Nobody else is outside, and Ricky turns around, arms crossed expectantly. 

"Well?" Ricky raises his eyebrows, and Nini takes a deep breath to steady herself. 

“I want to apologize for what I said that day. I was only thinking about myself when I should have stopped and thought about you.”

“I told you why I do it,” Ricky says, shaking his head.

“I know! But I didn’t really understand it, I guess, and I never looked at the grand scheme of things! You told me about your past and I – I hadn’t actually thought about, you know, the trauma that came with it. You have every right to be angry and hate me – ”

“I’m not angry,” Ricky interjects, “mainly just disappointed now.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“I told you something only three other people in my life know about, one of which is my mom, and only because she was there for part of it. Because I trusted you. It sucks, having someone I trust throw that back in my face.”

Nini feels awful for having made Ricky feel that way. “You go out there and risk your life for people you don’t even know – you’re making their lives better, and I overlooked that. I was selfish and controlling… I didn’t mean to, but I still said what I said and I wish I hadn’t. I wish I had stopped to think about you instead of blurting stuff out impulsively.”

The bruise under Ricky’s eye has nearly faded completely; faster than it would have for any other person. His intense gaze at Nini sets her insides on fire.

“I wish it hadn’t taken me this long to understand.”

“I’m not going to stop,” Ricky says slowly. “Otherwise, more people will get hurt.”

“I know.” Nini stares at the ground. “I don’t want you to stop, and even if I did, I know I can’t force you to.”

A few seconds of silence pass before Nini lifts her head back up, meeting Ricky’s eye. “You don’t have to forgive me, or anything. I just wanted to apologize. I’ll leave you alone now, if that’s what you want.” Stepping away from Ricky, she turns to leave.

“Nini.” Ricky says suddenly, and Nini turns back to look at him. “I don’t hate you. I get that you were worried, and it means a lot, but I don’t want you to be.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Nini admits. “I worry about you all the time, Ricky.”

A look of surprise flashes on Ricky’s face, but he softens at that, and sighs. “It’s unfair to tell you not to, huh?”

“Just a bit,” Nini jokes lightly.

“I guess,” Ricky takes a deep breath, “I’ll have to deal with that. I forgive you.”

“Really?” Nini’s eyes widen.

“Yes,” he replies. “I appreciate the apology.”

“Thank you, again,” Nini says, feeling like she’s walking on air. “I truly meant it.”

“You seemed sincere.” There’s a humorous tone to Ricky’s voice, and Nini laughs awkwardly.

“I really was. I am!”

She suddenly has the urge to hug him, and so she does. Ricky tenses under her touch for only a moment, but then sighs and drops his chin onto Nini’s shoulder.

“I missed you.” Nini mumbles into his hair, unable to keep it in.

“Of course you did.”

Nini has never wanted to kiss Ricky more than she does now.

\--

Slowly but surely, Nini starts to rebuild her relationship with Ricky. They’ve been talking things through and hanging out more, and (almost) nothing makes her happier. Secretly, she’s relieved she didn’t manage to ruin their relationship - if anything, Ricky has opened up even more, answering most of Nini’s questions without judgment.

A part of Nini just wants to tell Ricky how she feels. It’s getting harder to ignore the butterflies that flutter in her stomach every time Ricky so much as glances at her, and she doesn’t know if she can keep it in any longer; honestly, it’s a miracle that Ricky hasn’t started suspecting anything by now. 

But on the other hand, she cares about Ricky more than she wants to admit, and doesn’t want to ruin the relationship they’ve built. Losing Ricky over unrequited feelings, of all things, would be the absolute worst.

A knock on Nini’s door jolts her out of her reverie, and she quickly checks her hair in the laptop webcam before shutting it closed and heading for the door. Ricky is dripping wet, curls clinging to his forehead, and smiling. Her eyes don’t drop to his wet shirt - definitely not. 

“You look like you went swimming, fully clothed,” Nini remarks wryly, letting him in. 

“Feels like it,” Ricky shivers.

“I washed your sweatshirt that you left here the last time you came over,” Nini says. “You can change into that.”

“Thanks.”

Nini flops down on the couch while Ricky’s in the bathroom, changing. She scrolls through Instagram for a while, but her mind is restless.

"I was thinking," Ricky calls, exiting the bathroom and perching on the edge of the couch, "if the rain calms down a little, we can go grab a late lunch. Or an early dinner."

“Sure,” Nini responds, distracted. 

Ricky frowns. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just - I don’t know. It’s weird.”

“I doubt that it’s weird.” Ricky’s voice is teasing, and Nini’s pretty sure he means _nothing could be weirder than my kind of weird_. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” Nini admits, suddenly feeling guilty for ruining the mood. Ricky watches her contemplatively.

“I keep thinking,” Ricky says after a moment, “about how you level me out.”

“What? How?” Nini questions, confused.

Ricky shrugs. “Whenever it’s a bad day and I’m pacing the streets at 4 in the morning, I think about our conversations and it...helps.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Nini isn’t quite sure where to go from here. Ricky is staring at his socks, an uncharacteristic blush coloring his cheeks. 

“Ricky,” she finally says, “you know that I’m here for you, right?”

“Same,” Ricky nudges her gently. “So are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“Ugh,” Nini groans, head in hands. “I can’t. Let’s watch a movie or something, instead.”

“Hey,” Nini feels her hands being moved away, and looks up to see Ricky’s face much, much closer to hers than she’d imagined. “What’s wrong? You’ve been off the past few days.”

“I like you, okay?” she blurts before she can stop herself. 

“I know,” Ricky says.

“Not platonically,” Nini corrects, her face on fire. “Romantically. I...have a crush on you.”

“Oh.” This time, it’s Ricky’s turn to be surprised, and he pulls away from her. Then, he starts laughing.

“Gee, thanks,” Nini can feel her eyes stinging. It’s already bad enough that Ricky doesn’t like her back, but laughing?

“No, wait,” Ricky rushes to clarify. “I didn’t mean-”

“You should go.” Nini can’t look at him right now.

Ricky shifts back over and gently lifts Nini’s chin up with the palm of his hand. Their eyes meet. “For someone so smart, you’re terrible at reading cues.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nini blinks away her tears angrily, still gazing into Ricky’s eyes. 

Ricky scoffs. “You’re unbelievable.” Then, he kisses her.

Nini’s head immediately spins at the sensation. Ricky is kissing her. He’s actually – Nini tentatively runs her fingers through Ricky’s hair, the way she’s wanted to all these months. Ricky’s lips are so soft, and he smells like the rain and tastes like chocolate. Ricky’s thumb brushes across her cheek, and she’s gone.

After a few seconds, or a few hours for all Nini knows, Ricky pulls away. He’s looking at her as if she’s the most important thing in the world, and she can’t get enough of it.

“Ricky,” she whispers, voice unsteady.

“I don’t open up to just anyone, you know.” He smiles slightly.

“I can’t believe this,” Nini mutters. “You actually like me back.”

“As if it wasn’t obvious just now. ‘Like’ is a pretty underwhelming word.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Nini asks. Ricky shakes his head.

“Why didn’t _you_ say anything?”

“A ten would never go for a four,” Nini tries to joke, chuckling awkwardly.

Ricky knits his brows. “I’m a four? I’ve got to be a six, at the very least.”

Nini groans, tells Ricky to shut up, and buries her face in the crook of his neck. 

\--

When the rain settles, Ricky and Nini go out for Thai food. As they walk down the sidewalk, Ricky takes her hand, grinning at her with a smile that shines like the sun. 

Nini is deliriously happy.

\--

Gina eventually finds out Ricky’s alternate identity when she barges in on Nini tending to his wounds (and exchanging kisses in the process). She isn't angry, really - they explain things to her as best as they can, without mentioning Ricky’s dad, and she’s understanding, though she is disappointed to be the last one to know. Once she's over her initial shock, she starts piecing things together, and then mutters 'book club' under her breath. 

“I was running out of excuses, okay?” Ricky tries to defend himself. Gina rolls her eyes, and Nini laughs.

She’s never been happier.


End file.
